If legislative Democrats had their way, California might well be on its way to a government-run health care system. Both houses of the Legislature passed a bill last year to create a so-called "single-payer" system, only to have Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger veto it. Surrounded by union supporters and fellow liberal lawmakers, the leader of the single-payer movement, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said Tuesday that she will try again. Kuehl's central goal in Senate Bill 840 is to eliminate health insurance companies -- which she says ring up excessive profits and offer substandard coverage -- from the system. Instead, she...

By Sheila James Kuehl. SHEILA JAMES KUEHL (D-Santa Monica) chairs the state Senate Health Committee Four healthcare proposals are now before the Legislature, including one crafted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which will be spotlighted in his State of the State address tonight. Unfortunately, that plan and two others — state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's SB 48 and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez's AB 13 — are short-term solutions that have the potential to expand coverage but at the end of the day can't be relied on to achieve what 80% of Californians say they want: a government guarantee of...

Democratic candidate Phil Angelides challenged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on gun control and affirmative action Friday at the California NAACP conference, framing the issues as African American concerns the Republican governor should address when he visits the same group Saturday. The Democratic state treasurer questioned why Schwarzenegger accepted an endorsement from the California Rifle and Pistol Association "when our young men and women are being gunned down in the streets of Oakland." He also charged that Schwarzenegger never fought against a voter-approved 1996 initiative that banned colleges and other public institutions from using affirmative action. "I'm proud that I opposed Proposition...

Saying he opposes government-run health care, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger followed through Friday on his promise to veto a Democratic bill that would have set up a universal health care system covering all Californians. "Socialized medicine is not the solution to our state's health care problems," the Republican governor said in an unusually long veto message in which also he touted his efforts to expand two other government health care programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, which serve the poor. "This bill would require an extraordinary redirection of public and private funding by creating a vast new bureaucracy to take over health...

California businesses have been hit hard by this past legislative session. First, they have been forced to swallow a minimum wage increase and caps on industrial emissions of greenhouse gases as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seeks to bolster his centrist stance in an election year. Now, there are dozens of other bills on the governor’s desk that could impose additional costs on doing business in California. Meanwhile, only a handful of bills supported by business made it through. But it could have been worse. Dozens of other bills dubbed “job killers” were defeated in the closing weeks of the session. Among...

San Jose mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez and gubernatorial contender Phil Angelides -- both labor-friendly Democrats and underdogs in their campaigns for office -- promised a gathering of union leaders in downtown San Jose on Friday that they would champion policies to help working-class families if they win in November. ``It matters who gets elected,'' Chavez, San Jose's vice mayor, told 2,000 rank-and-file leaders of the United Healthcare Workers union meeting for their annual conference at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. Angelides' speech won loud applause from the health care union members, many of whom surrounded the state treasurer afterward...

After Schwarzenegger Vetoes Healthcare Coverage, John Edwards and Phil Angelides to Join California's Largest and Fastest Growing Union in Major Healthcare Reform Announcement SAN JOSE, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Phil Angelides will join hundreds of rank-and-file leaders from California's largest and fastest growing union as SEIU United Health Care Workers-West makes an announcement about their commitment to bring universal health care coverage to California by 2008 and make fundamental change in Washington D.C. and Sacramento. The announcement will come as 2,000 healthcare workers from across the state convene at the 2nd Annual SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got off to a fast start in his annual September Veto Parade yesterday by saying he would reject state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's nonsensical, poorly drafted bill mandating that California adopt socialized medicine. It is a sad commentary on the Legislature that Kuehl's bill made it this far. Perhaps the governor next can tackle measures that are, respectively, anti-consumer, anti-common sense and pro-corruption. AB 2592, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would allow car-rental companies to omit the cost of airport fees when advertising rental rates. How does Leno – who sees himself as a classic liberal do-gooder...

Freedom is a fragile thing. A candlelight in a windstorm, if you will, requiring constant vigilance to preserve. It is never safe, as the old saying goes, as long as the California Legislature (or Congress, for that matter) is in session. That is because the ruling class, that is, elected officials, bureaucrats, and their allies in the private sector, get money, power and prestige from bigger government, and bigger government is an anathema to freedom. Therefore, those who are in charge of protecting our freedom, (i.e. government officials) have a vested interest in taking it away. Human nature being what...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Tuesday he would veto a bill that would create a government-run health care system for the most populous U.S. state. The widely expected veto, as Schwarzenegger seeks re-election in November, marks one of the Republican governor's sharpest breaks with the state's Democratic-led legislature this year. Schwarzenegger commended the Democratic lawmaker who advanced the health-care bill, but said California could not afford a state-run health system. An immigrant from Austria, Schwarzenegger had previously signaled his opposition to the bill because he believes state-run health systems in Europe work against consumers. The...

I commend Sen. Sheila Kuehl's commitment and dedication to providing health care coverage for all Californians, but I must veto Senate Bill 840 because I cannot support a government-run health care system. Socialized medicine is not the solution to our state's health care problems. This bill would require an extraordinary redirection of public and private funding by creating a vast new bureaucracy to take over health insurance and medical care for Californians – a serious and expensive mistake. Such a program would cost the state billions and lead to significant new taxes on individuals and businesses, without solving the critical...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that he will veto a universal health care bill that is headed for his desk, claiming the measure would set up a "vast new bureaucracy" that would be too expensive. The Republican governor said the single-payer system proposed by Sen. Sheila Kuehl would "cost the state billions and lead to significant new taxes on individuals and businesses, without solving the critical issue of affordability. "I won't jeopardize the economy of our state for such a purpose," the governor said in a statement. Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said Schwarzenegger's comments indicated he "has not read the...

As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The problems come about when something is broken and the involved parties can't agree on how to fix it. Such is the state of health care coverage in California. The state Assembly on Aug. 28 approved Senate Bill 840, which would provide health insurance to all residents, making California the only state with government-operated universal health care. The state Senate approved it Thursday on a party-line vote, sending it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Democrats want to establish a system controlled through creation of a California Health Insurance Agency. A...

Although Phil Angelides already is gearing up to slam Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his expected veto of state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's universal health care bill, SB 840, the Democratic hopeful has no intention of telling anyone what he would do if he actually was governor, instead of just a candidate for the job. When asked Sunday if he would sign the bill that's now on the governor's desk, Angelides refused, often and at great length, to say. "It's a moot issue because (Schwarzenegger) is not going to sign it," the treasurer said. "It's a moot issue because it's on his...

Sadly, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto Bill 840, thus denying medical care for seven million state residents Sacramento (1 September 2006) - California legislators are poised to vote for a Canadian-style health-care system by passing Bill 840, a measure that would outlaw private health care throughout the state. The legislation was approved earlier by members of the state assembly and was endorsed Thursday by the state senate. If enacted, the bill would provide free medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage for all California residents by 2009 through a state-run agency. Arnold Schwarzenegger expected to terminate Medicare The...

DANVILLE -- Danville resident Mary Roberts doesn't trust the government with her health or her money. As a baby boomer and a Republican, she said she's concerned with the rising cost of healthcare, how she will pay for it in the future and how the issue will play out in the upcoming election. But like other citizens of Danville, an affluent East Bay community 18 miles southeast of Berkeley, she opposed Senate Bill 840 that proposes ending private insurance and replacing it with state-run healthcare for everyone. Danville and Clayton are the only cities in Contra Costa, Alameda and San...

Under the amended bill, California residents essentially would pay their health insurance premiums, copays and deductibles into a state-funded health insurance program. Money the state spends on health care also would go into the new system. Her bill is opposed by the insurance industry and legislative Republicans, who have said it amounts socialized medicine. Schwarzenegger has said he opposes so-called single-payer health care systems.

Legislators on Thursday sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a universal health care bill he is likely to veto and a measures increasing the minimum wage and regulating greenhouse gases he is likely to sign. Lawmakers face a midnight deadline to deal with nearly 200 bills before the scheduled end of the two-year legislative session. Before adjournment, they are expected to send the Republican governor bills to allow phone companies into the cable television market and ban hand-held cell phone use while driving. Also on the table are measures to ease prison overcrowding.

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- California's Democrat-controlled Assembly has passed a universal healthcare bill that is expected to figure in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election bid. The bill would eliminate private medical insurance plans and establish a statewide health insurance system for all state residents, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. The state senate is expected to approve changes to plan and send it the Republican governor, who has expressed his opposition to a single-payer plan. The Chronicle said the governor, however, has not offered an alternative for the state's 7 million people who are uninsured. His office has said the governor...

The state Assembly on Monday passed a pair of sweeping social policy changes -- a universal health care bill and a proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses -- that have virtually no chance of becoming law but could become fodder in the governor's race this fall. The bills represent heartfelt Democratic causes and are certain to draw vetoes from Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, should they reach his desk. They also highlight important differences between Schwarzenegger and his opponent, Democratic Treasurer Phil Angelides. The difference is sharpest on the driver's license bill: Schwarzenegger opposes it; Angelides said...